Leaderboard

Fred was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young pullets, and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced. This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters. Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing. Now, he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report by just listening to the bells. Fred's favourite rooster, old Butch, was a very fine specimen, but this morning he noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all! When he went to investigate, he saw the other roosters were busy chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing, but the pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover. To Fred's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring. He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. Fred was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the City Show and he became an overnight sensation among the judges. The result was the judges not only awarded old Butch the "No Bell Piece Prize," but they also awarded him the "Pulletsurprise" as well. Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the unsuspecting populace and screwing them when they weren't paying attention. Vote carefully in the next election, you can't always hear the bells.

I thought my dryer was shrinking my clothes. Turns out it was the refrigerator.

Just cruising around this holiday weekend. Been working on her every spare minute for the past two months. Still lots to do but sometimes you gotta stop and smell some flowers! Old school guys will appreciate the rock crusher whining away. Such a nostalgic sound. Purists may disagree but I like to think I hit a good blend of modern and retro with this car and did it my way.

Ancillary parts to the lower intake and connections went together without issue. There was a brief pause when I leak-tested the fuel lines and injection system. Fuel was spraying all over. Lovely. O-rings weren't sealing the fuel lines to the spider, and inbound line was leaking at schrader valve, leaks at both flange nuts. It's moments like those when you just want to set fire to the whole shop, and be done with it. I was mostly enjoying the project up until that point, and was tracking to an agenda of having a running Blazer and a cold beverage in hand by dinnertime. I found some larger Viton o-rings for my spider and some grease to get them to seat. One leak solved. Swapped fuel line Schrader core for old core. Still leaked. Swapped entire valve for old valve. Leak solved. Nudged the flange nuts a little tighter on the connections. Another leak solved. I could cycle the key / prime the pump and the intake was staying dry. Reassembled the upper intake, with 10,000 vacuum lines, and filled the cooling system with water* (this is temporary, I'm not done with the cooling system yet). Showtime!! Cranked it over and smoke billowed, it was running rough. CEL illuminated and began flashing. P0300 and I somehow tripped a code for the TPS sensor, voltage low. There's nothing as unrewarding as a vehicle that won't run (and produces the same code/problem) after hours of research and work. Clearly I was in over my head. Was the timing off, did I stab the distributor incorrectly? Is the new distributor bad? With my limited OBD 1.5 data stream I really don't have a lot of parameters to see. The engine was pulling mad timing again (flooding?). Think, Atlas, think. 1-6-5-4-3-2. One, six, five.....four, three, ....two. Wait a second. That makes no sense. 1 is the forward cylinder on the driver's side, so 2 should be the forward cylinder on the passenger side, not 6. I can't believe it, but I'm looking right at it. Swapped 2 and 6 on the distributor and turned the key over, and... It fired, coughed and stumbled, smoked, and then settled into a smooth idle. The scanner showed no codes, no lights on the dash, and the throttle was nice and responsive to gentle revs while it warmed up. It's working!!! IT'S WORKING!!! I paused for a late dinner, no cold beverage yet. I was determined to do my shakedown run. Did a basic safety and fluids check one more time and then went out and put almost 70 miles on it last night. She's a runner, runs good. Came home and did a post-trip, post-mortem. The underside is dry *except* for where the last owner RTV'd the snow out of the intersection of the timing cover and oil pan. He said he had replaced the timing cover seal, but, my dude had clearly done it incorrectly and then tried to hold back fate with black RTV. Never works. Yesterday morning I replaced the broken driver's door mirror. As much as I hate cheap Chinese parts, thank goodness for cheap Chinese parts. I think an entire new power mirror assembly cost me like $30, and it works perfectly. Replacement tail lights (faded, and one was busted) ran me about $12/side. I have a door pin kit ready to go in because the driver's door sags just a little and I want to fix that because there's nothing sadder than a saggy door. I don't know what's next for this rig. Half of me wants to take some nice photos (there's a park nearby with a HUGE American Flag that always seems to be catching wind) and throw it up on CL/Marketplace for a couple grand and see if it flies. The other half of me... I've got a sweet running S10 Blazer that's been keeping my mind off of whatever I'm going through right now, and it's bringing some joy, and is cheaper than therapy. Maybe I'll keep it around for a little while. However, this is my 5th vehicle, just for me. 4 is really my limit, but they are not junk, so need very little attention. I don't know...there's a point where it's just too much and I don't see owning this truck long term. But I solved its major problem, got it running, so I'm going to stick a feather in my cap for now. Sometimes we just need to get our hands dirty and fix something in the physical world to gain some satisfaction.

It really is comical when people don’t agree or see the reason some people prefer the older vehicles. They become condescending. All the while they may be busting their knuckles on old vehicles. I have found memories of swapping out engines in my old GM cars in a weekend without much hassle. Unlike today. One wrong move a computer will shut you down. Even on something as easy as a brake job. There’s a pretty comical YouTuber called the car wizard. A garage owner who puts it all in perspective. Another Vicegrip garage that’s shows just how tough the old stuff is.

Because that is IDIOTIC, much like this question. They've already been forced to do it by past administrations - why would you roll that back when it's a GOOD thing? WHO IS ARGUING FOR LOWER MILEAGE???? NOBODY IS!! I'm certainly not! What I want is RELIABLE vehicles again that are worth the price paid! I don't get your logic here ... In 2003 I paid $2,200 for our '86 Grand Marquis. It's STILL running and I've never been inside the engine, aside for the timing cover since it was leaking, so I threw a new timing set in since that makes sense. Transmission is ORIGINAL. Electric pump in the gas tank is ORIGINAL. Rear end is ORIGINAL. I'd have to hit my head REAL hard to want to pay $60k or more for a car that still can't come close to the comfort, seating and storage space, or reliability of this one. Nothing is even in the ball park! Hundreds of thousands of brands and models have been built and sent to the crusher while this one keeps on going! https://postimg.cc/Z9XRrCSg I've got a whole fleet of cars, motorcycles, and a truck close to this age for summer and winter. No one could pay me enough to buy anything built this century. I have zero use for any it.

Sitting at my parents house are two older diesel trucks not only getting the same fuel mileage that the mini diesel gets. But both have pulled a 14K tractor on a 7K gooseneck trailer. A 2000 Ford one ton diesel and a 1998 3/4 ton 5.9 Cummins. All original. I’m certainly not complaining about the power of today’s trucks. But the additional quest for fuel mileage and the additional pollution devices have taken reliability down to half what it used to be.

Sadly, there's a drought of good 92-95 4.3 cars at junkyards in the area otherwise I would have gone fishing for parts. Not that they don't come up, there's just nothing good in the yards right now. I tore into the intake yesterday evening, easier than I thought, and I might have this problem licked for cheap. Two of the intake studs came up with the bolt on removal, no big deal but that's why it looks funny with studs only on one side. There's pooled gas on both sides of the plenum. Highlights boxed in green. Picture-right side has an obviously split pressure line from rubbing on the #5 injector nylon line. #5's line is worn in that spot but not all the way through. Passenger side intake (picture left), not sure, but I think the pressure regulator is hosed. Rebuilt spiders don't come with the pressure and return hoses so I'll need to replace those no matter what. A pressure regulator is $30 so I'll try that and if I end up having to swap the whole spider, it was $30. I'll be grinning ear to ear if that's all I need. Parts arrive Tuesday. Sure enough the shop was here before. That's a new gasket. Vacuum lines and wiring are a tangled mess, I sorted that out last night as well. Spent about an hour just picking up general slack and shoddy reassembly around the engine bay. Cheek-pokered the battery tray, got it all cleaned up. Sometimes things just need a little elbow grease and a few minutes of time to be right again.

Maybe, but it seems he is the only one that has backed up data to prove what he is stating. I think he is doing this more because he enjoys it and wants to get the information out to us. He's got the knowledge and access to the proper equipment and having the funds doesn't hurt. I would love to do what he is doing and would do it if and when I hit the Powerball. I'm not a Tribologist by any means but love to learn what I can. I would bet there would be doubting people out there if a completely independent lab with high quality work and highly respected in the automotive industry, put out information like this. The world can't be pleased, one just has to take the information that they are given, do more of their own research to find actual lab data to back up what they are trying to figure/find out. Most don't bother, they just want to believe what they first see. I don't have the minimax but my 6.2 in my 2019 Silverado with 64k miles shows excellent UOA results with 0w-20 and for my own purposes 5w-20. Since not much of a change using 5w. I liked the data sheet information on the SS 5w-20 and figured I would give it a try. Still the same viscosity at 100℃. In the end we all just do what makes us happy, life is too short to get upset over trivial social media. On a side note, I do feel GM has dropped the ball and just cares about the bottom dollar and not quality anymore. "Like a Rock" has been long gone. Seems "Built Ford Tough" has as well.

Lake Speed is drumming up business for his company just by being in the spot-light so he has a vested interest in stoking the 0W-20 fire. IMO

There is a Chevy joke in there as well ...

One word. Ugly

I hear you, its just not something one would even think of that the new oil in the container isn't filtered to a spec one would expect it to be. As to a passenger vehicle theme and the maintenance requirement to meet to ensure a warranty is honored, these days with claims of life time transmission fluid on some models and the limited amount of oil changes that would bring one to the end of the factory warranty, that sells vehicles for those that like to hear "easy care maintenance free", but the manufacturer certainly knows different as to what that more than likely means for the longevity of some of the components if given that minimum spec maintenance. Then again I imagine there are a fair number of people that really don't care as long the vehicle gets them a certain number of years down the road because they are the type that want the next new thing, new and improved ... more bells and crap etc on the new one on the show room floor. Manufacturers have learned the phycological game to entice the customer out of their money !

What oil, how frequent it's changed and who does it a personal choice. I will change my oil myself with the products I like until I no longer can do it. No one touches my vehicles, toys or other motors unless it can't be avoided.

No leaks. Replaced the condenser 3 years ago. Problem was found to be caused by the A/C blend door actuator. Just replaced it and it's blowing out the cold air it used to when I bought it.

This is a good video on fuel additives and their effects. It's long but well worth the time. Very good information.

Interesting is I stopped off at a NAPA store in WV small town and they said they are having a hard time getting 0w-20. I also have a contact at a Chevrolet dealership that said the ULV fluid for the 10sp is hard to get as well. Not GM related but I also stopped off at our local Kia dealership and they said they were out of their ATF and it was on order inspected to get it in in a week. They said they were limited to what they could order. In the mean time AMSOIL see's what is going on and sent out a letter stating there are issues with getting supplies and pricing will have another slight increase but to be sure AMSOIL isn't seeing any issues as of now providing for their customers. They can supply as normal. Can't find what you need locally from your normal source? Contact me I can get you the best price on anything AMSOIL.

If your truck is bad as you are saying then you shouldn't be asking what's wrong with it here you should be taking it to the shop asap.

Hopefully your system has leak dye in it still? A black light will help find the dye at the leaks. Yea condenser leak is probably the most common issue on the 2014-2018 generation 1500s. Next common would be the one hose off the compressor or the compressor itself. 2014s used to crack that hose near where it attached to the compressor if I'm not mistaken. EDIT: Here's the PI for that line cracking - temp.xml It can spray dye all over the hose and compressor if it happens.

Check the a/c condenser.............they are notorious for cracking at the pinch weld. Look through the grill on the driverside. There's a small tack weld. If I remember right if you hold up a black light the refrigerant will glow if the weld is cracked

Here is the manual for my 2025 it does infer that the crosshatch area should be appox 1L. and it says the oil level should be checked cold and parked on level ground. Also to check every 400miles.

I know when I was looking around last year to see if someone handled Amsoil gear oil to buy at the retail level which of course means full price. I found an independent shop that works a lot on GM/Duramax pickups and they did not bring in the 75W-85 as they just stuck to the 75W-90 for the front and rear as a standard practice for the HD trucks which makes sense anyway for the higher hp/torque diesel and pulling heavy loads in four wheel drive. I haven't changed my diff oils yet but still plan on using the 75W-85 for the front diff as I highly doubt I will be beating on the truck and figured for my use type the bit thinner oil would be to my benefit for the winter for that slightly less drag. Very different weather here all winter vs northern Washington near the coast, that's for sure.

I have no first-hand knowledge about it but I have seen quite a few comments that GM selected lower viscosity gear oils to slightly improve fuel mileage. Personally, I care more about longevity and reliability than fuel mileage on this type of vehicle, and I have not read any cautions about using 75w90 in place of the 75w85 specified for the front differential, so I went with the 75w90 I have used for 35 years on other GM trucks and SUVs.

You might try this 1st. 1. Disconnect both transmission lines from the trans thermostat. 2. With compressed air, blow out the transmission cooler lines, blowing thru the return line with a jug container on the outlet line, and see if any debris is in the jug. I used a clear plastic drink bottle to catch the fluid & then looked to see if it caught any debris. Note from AI.....On your 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L with the 6L80E, the transmission fluid flow is: Upper cooler line at the transmission = Hot fluid OUT to the radiator/transmission cooler. Lower cooler line at the transmission = Cooled fluid RETURN back into the transmission. At the radiator/auxiliary cooler, the fluid typically flows: Out of the transmission through the upper line. Through the radiator heat exchanger. Through the auxiliary cooler (if equipped with the factory towing package). Back to the transmission through the lower return line.. Then with the thermostat removed, I installed a thermometer defeat (bypass) that bought off Amazon. This one has no moving parts.

I have changed oil and filter for years by starting a cold engine to warm oil up, let it run 5-10 minutes depending on temperature. Drain until it starts dripping, refill with quantity from owners manual or get it close.

I'm taking a day or two off. Still waiting on a fuel pressure regulator, and I'm hurting. This is a hobby not a day job and I'm just not used to bending over an engine bay like this. Surprisingly, hands are OK. I wear gloves. I'll do some tinkering later today and get the engine side of the intake mating surface cleaned up. Intake itself is ready to go. Hoping to seat it / gaskets and RTV today so it can cure in time for the weekend.

I really get a kick out of all these old boomers saying they don't like all the technology in the new trucks and they prefer the 20-30 year old trucks or the base work truck models. I bet they yell at the neighborhood kids to get off their grass too. LOL!

I'm confused on the 10 qts—the L8T takes 8 (7.9, actually) quarts with an oil/filter change.

Care to wager that those diesels don’t get better than 20 mpg? Those trucks are well kept and pristine. One is north of 250K the other is close to 175K. Never had any major repairs. It’s amazing how condensation you can get. The difference is I can back up what I say. All you do is get upset and spicy. Karen, that’s funny. Happens to be my wife’s, granddaughter and sister in law’s name. So much for originality.

I never understood the hate for the column shifter. The console shifter just gets in the way, takes up prime cargo space and in my wife's Jeep, the dog constantly bumps the console shifter into neutral! Best choice ever to just make it a column shifter across the lineup and be done with it. (Bonus: Makes swapping from a 5 seater to a six seater far easier)

I had an 88 K1500 with a 5.7 that had those symptoms, I know totally different, it ended up being the ECM. Once you get the fuel system fixed if it still runs lousy you may want to investigate that. it didn't set any codes, stalled ,ran rough at times etc

My brother in law was sitting in Houston Traffic during rush hour going to work. He forgot to hit the button. He was at a light his VW wouldn’t restart. It took an hour for a tow truck to get to him. He said it was the scariest hour of his life. It took him to an auto zone he put in a new battery. He was late for a meeting at work. All for another useless government mandate.

I have four that read by the dash 8 to 10% better than miles/pump calculations and I have one that is spot on.

Stan, this thread is specifically related to the Duramax 3.0, in the 2019-2026 powertrain subforum. If you'd like to talk about your other vehicles and offer anecdotal stories about them, please consider starting a thread in forum that pertains to your truck, or the other vehicles/ Off-Topic section if they are not a GM truck.

@Grumpy Bear the conclusion from your post about doubling engine life has me curious. Are we literally talking an expected life of 250,000 miles potentially becomes 500,000 miles with a step up in filtration for fresh oil at "the oil factory" when it's bottled? I know you said that's a single variable among many, but, that's significant if the implication extends that far into a real world use case. I would think the oil marketing folks would really eat that up and make it known. Particles introduced during oil change is a fairly easy one to avoid, but probably not intuitive as one would think. I.e. using a clean funnel. But...what was it wiped with? Paper towel leaves behind little fibers. A solvent if not dried is not something one would want to introduce into their engine with clean oil. And, keeping the oil filler neck clean and free of buildup.. Look at some guys engine bays and they're an absolute mess. Some say that's better than the drawbacks of cleaning it. I'm not a buyer of that idea. I've also wondered if "flooding" the top end of the engine with oil while filling is a bad idea. During normal lubrication the oil flows in a gutter back into the galleys. But if you flood the area you're potentially washing the top of the rockers, springs, and other areas which may not get much oil wash normally, and you're mixing all that into the new oil. I just don't have the patience to pour slowly.

It was a bad pump, i had a dealer next day the pump. Gm part #86591535. Tools needed 10mm socket, pliers for hose clamps, 1/2gal of Dexcool. About 30mins to remove and install, pump located near oil filter on driver's side frame rail. I had a local mobile mechanic delete the code, he had a snap on scan tool. My scanner could not delete the code. I drove back home about 700 miles since then, and no check engine light. Hope this helps someone in the future in the same situation i was in. Thank you to all that helped me.

Hi Gary, I guess it all boils down to personal preference and what you can afford. I, personally, buy new because I will know from day one how the vehicle is maintained and driven.

The one you posted is correct. Just the 4 bolts are one time use. The other two don't need to be replaced.

Stuff like this is why I have trust issues with anyone else working on my vehicles.

No, have not cut open any filters. Truly, I don't want to know. I'm treating the engine as if it's going to last and be kept a long time. For now, I'm doing short intervals during break-in which will gradually extend to about 3000-3500. I'm allowing this current interval to go 2,000 and change again at 5k. I use the access port to wiggle the flex plate like described in the TSB, and I watch for metal in the drain pan, but that's it. So far so good, but I'm not out of the forest yet. Most of the affected engines seem to fail before 10k.

I'm also under the understanding that one should only extract when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, warm/hot drain and let gravity do the rest. Speaking of which, I did a change at 3k on my 3.0 last night (500, 1500, and now 3k). The one downside to 0w20 is that it drains like water when hot and less like oil. Lots of splatter you wouldn't normally have with heavier weights. It kind of made a mess, actually. No metal, so maybe there's hope for this little 3.0 yet...

No one will care for you like you care for you. Do what you can for as long as you can. IMHO of course.

Since the media YOU and your buddies are programmed to watch failed to mention this, I'll fill you in. Trump admitted today that we've grabbed 150 MILLION barrels of oil from the Iranian tankers locked in the Strait by our Navy. We turned off their transponders, took them out to sea in the dark of night since they have zero radar capabilities anymore, offloaded every drop onto another vessel, and put them back by morning so no one was the wiser. That oil has been en-route THROUGHOUT the entire conflict. Main reason he admitted this is to let even guys on our own side who joined leftists in complaining about the prices that he hears us all, and has taken steps to make sure this didn't spiral into a BAD situation ... just like the mainstream media has been PRAYING would happen, just so they could gloat. Amazes me how these people are rooting for the destruction of THEIR OWN HOME, just to make a President they don't agree with or like look bad! That's next level TDS! I know your not capable of giving our President the benefit of the doubt, again due to your deep programming, but THIS is why oil never hit $150 a barrel as predicted by your programmers, AND the reason oil continues falling. Like I said before, Trump's got a plan, and this is proof of it. By the end of his term, we're going to be in GREAT shape for a change! Since I just spent $3,000 this week on #2 heating oil and gasoline, the war most certainly is ending! https://mxmnews.com/article/ba359ac9-2711-4851-92de-187f2400f2dd?breaking-trump-cancels-iran-strikes-deal-now-approved-by-all-parties

Actually the energy secretary said that's not true. Sometimes people with dementia have hallucinations and memories of things that didn't happen. But don't worry man we're just "a few days away" from ending the war, for the 39th time (and that's fact).

Now there's some fancy double talk. Let me see if I get this right. The level is at the bottom of the hatching and you add a quart (because the range of the hatching is a quart) it brings it to the top of the hatching but.... it's not down a quart?

Talk about throwing people for a loop! The newer Jeep 4-cylinders (2018+, "Hurricane" engine) make people think they're hallucinating when checking the oil. A proper oil check, described in the owner's manual, is exactly 5 minutes after shutdown of a fully warm engine. Not before 5 minutes. Not when the engine is cold. You have to take a reading when the recirculation in the turbo and top engine has drained down, but not completely empty. When those engines are stone-cold, the dipstick reads almost 1.5 quarts overfull. When they're warm right after shutdown, the stick may read almost empty.. If you change the oil and dump out 5 quarts of dirty oil including changing the filter, and refill with 5 quarts, this really can mess with your head if you check the oil later on and don't know what you're looking at.

Appreciate everyone's help and suggestions. I am going to man up on this one and admit my stupidity. I had the lower control arms on the wrong side and obviously upside down. I should have disassembled and then assembled 1 side at a time. Instead I disassembled both side ones night, cleaned up, and then reassembled the next night. It's amazing how closely everything still lines up with the arms on the wrong side. Close enough that I was able to get one side loosely bolted up. As soon as I went to put the knuckle on and saw that the hole for the lower ball joint to fit into was tapered the wrong direction it hit me what I had done. Once I swapped the LCA's the passenger side bolted right up imagine that. On the driver side I did have to compress the spring again and rotate it 180deg. Once I did that the angle of the shock and mounting ears all lined up as well. Have not got the new tires mounted and alignment yet (later this week), but the improvement was definitely noticeable over the worn OE shocks. I did end up getting rid of the 1/2" Rough Country strut spacer and then adjusted the Eibach's up all the way to the 2.5" setting. No rubbing on the Superlift UCA like I had with the OE one with the same tires. Did not need the wheel spacers.